Wednesday, January 27, 2010

I haven't felt like blogging lately........for a various number of reasons. This may continue on for at least a couple more weeks. I have been battling a cold for two weeks now. My computer and internet have been on the blink. Our weather has been mostly dark and rainy and that hasn't motivated me to go out and take pictures. I have pictures on my camera from Chloe's birthday two weeks ago that I haven't even looked at yet.

So for now, I will just post an update and hopefully, sometime soon, I will return with original pictures and fun tales of our adventures.

January 19th was Chloe's 6th birthday. It was a lot of fun. We had her party on the Saturday before at Pump It Up and I think it was well-received. We got her roller skates for her birthday. She wanted them for Christmas, but I waited for her to ask several times to make sure that was what she really wanted. Pearl has shown no signs of jealousy or interest in roller skates, but I suspect she is. I keep telling her to ask me for whatever she wants for her birthday (coming up in April), but she just asks for something basic, like a Barbie doll. I think the girls already have a dozen of those. Chloe is really developing her own interests and skills. She can do amazing cartwheels (self-taught) and often does them with one hand or just on her knuckles. I wouldn't be surprised if she starts doing them without touching the ground at all, but then I guess that wouldn't be a cartwheel.

We are signing the girls up for Chinese dance class. It was too hard to make the one hour round trip on Sunday afternoons for the Chinese language class. Just one day missed for illness sets you too far behind to catch up. We will have to try that again when the girls are a bit older. Dance class will be on Monday nights. Chloe still has vision therapy every Thursday evening.

After being for sale for 2.5 years, our home is in escrow!! We are not allowing ourselves to get excited just yet because we know how easy it is for these things to fall through. Nevertheless, we are in negotiations to rent a beautiful new 3000SF home right by the girls' school. I hope to sign the lease by Friday.

I also started to lose weight. I am 23 days into my new lifestyle change (i.e. "diet") and I am down 19 pounds. I have such a long way to go that I am afraid to get too excited about that too. Next month I turn 45. It is really starting to feel like a new beginning. That's it for now.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

This new year has brought me a lot of motivation, excitement and inspiration..........just not about blogging. I will have to fill you in on the end of our glorious vacation in Carmel in a future post. This post is dedicated to the memory of our dear friend and family member, Marty the Cat.

When we left on vacation, Marty was active, healthy and alert. Much to my chagrin, he was a talented hunter. His favorite choice of prey were birds. Then on the day before our return, we received a call from Elena, our friend and caretaker, who informed us that Marty was limping. We didn't ask her to do anything since we would be home within 24 hours to assess the situation.

We arrived home on Sunday but could not find Marty anywhere. We called for him and searched our whole yard, but out attempts were unsuccessful. We left food out and he did not eat it. We looked for two more days and then by Tuesday, we were pretty sure Marty must have met with foul play. But our little adventure was not over yet.

On Wednesday, we had an appraiser come to our home to review our property. They looked it over from top to bottom. Then suddenly, one of the appraisers came back into the house with a concerned look on her face. She said, "Do you know there is a cat locked in your shed?" Panic struck, I darted out to the shed to find Marty, crouched and crying and pitiful. His eyes were fully dialated and he acted like he couldn't see. I carried him in and gave him some food and water. He only ate two bites. An hour later, I was at the vet's office and Marty wasn't responding. It was beginning to seem like he was suffering from more than dehydration. The vet looked him over and exclaimed "Your cat is blind!" I had no idea. He was just hunting two weeks ago.

Apparently, Marty had suffered from some sort of trauma, probably just after going blind, while we were on vacation. He had been hiding in the shed because he couldn't see and he was sick. My husband was in the shed only the day before and didn't notice Marty. Sadly, he hung on for a few more days. At least we had the chance to say goodbye and hold him until the end.

I know there are a lot of people that don't care for cats, but we liked to think Marty was special. He was friendly and greeted visitors, but didn't fuss all over them. He was a constant companion whenever we were in the yard. He seemed to watch over us like we were in his pack. He didn't act all finicky and snooty like some cats. He always knew when to keep his claws in and he never bit or nibbled on us. Marty would walk with us four blocks down to the corner market and then back home. He wasn't on a leash; he just liked being with us. Farewell sweet Marty! You were a wonderful pet.

My pictures on Flickr

Click on Picture to Go to My Etsy Shop

About Our Family

I am the proud mother of Chloe and Pearl and adoring wife to my husband Pete. We have two wonderful children that we adopted from China. My hobbies are sewing and photography, so this blog may cover a wide range of topics. I am also a civil engineer and that helps pay the bills.